Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-01-06
STATING HIS OBJECTIONS.
GEORGE r. BI-ANCHARD'S VIEWS OF
RAILWAY REGULATION.
Objections Stated to the Bill Now Up Be-
fore the Senate by a Posted Railway
Mana Question That England Has
Passed 800 Laws to settle-PooIs and
Length Of Haul.

Passed 800 Laws to SettIe-PooIs and
Length of Haul.
NEW YoRH, jan g. George R, Bla
chard, the weli-known railroad man, has
VT itten long letter 10 The Times on the
interstate commerce bill In his letter Mr.
Blanchard says: Conservative railway
managers agree that it should prohibit dis
eliminating preferences and unreasonable
rates and require publicity and adequate
legal penalties, This entities their grounds
of dissent from its long and short-haul and
antipooling provision to fair consideration.
1t is impracticable to solve this complex prob
lem by one land our first law on the subject,
when in thirty years insular England, with
out state lines or ad jacent nations to confuse
or internal seas and rivers to restrict rates,
passed and repealed ], 800 railway measures,
more or less of them involving the principles
of this bill. The length-of-haul problem has
similarly perplexed all countries where solu-
ton was easier than with US. In none of
| them has it to this date been so stringently
solved as now proposed, and in some it is yet
| undetermined. Its solution can not be easiest
in a country offering the greatest mileage
and complications which increase in
geometrical ratio. This clause recognizes
that it will result In wrongs, as witness the
proviso authorizing the commission TO license
exceptions
at ignores the fact that the warning
power alone has in all the states having rail-
way commissions proved efficient to correct
real evils. The great carrying wrongs alleged
before the Hepburn committee in this state
! have all been silently corrected without
legislation as to length of haul by the almost
unexercised police power Of the state COM
| mission. Given as fair and accessible a ma
| tional commission with due power and dis
erection, reporting annually to congress, and
an interested public watching and presenting
| its grievances, and particularly in view Of
the anti-corporate sentiment Of congress, the
railways would even more promptly correct
unjustifable results and carrying condi-
| tionsh
In regard to pooling, which the bill pro-
hibits, Mr. Blanchard says: 81 object to the
| term pool, but must use il. The underlying
motive of this prohibition Is that II always
can be legally stimulated to disunitsd strife
| by denying the right Of united CO operation
the public will benefit No more superficial
view could prevail, and it is clearly political
| ihNupi lhdu NDbSSltl all
interstate rates shall be reasonable, uni
form, preferential, public; long and short
hauls properly related, and that national
commission enforce all this and with due
remedies at law punish violators, then the
public should welcome rather than resist all
supplementary voluntary railway action in
tended to aid precisely those good objects,
as every pool does Rival rates must be
made by some form Of agreement be
| tween rival carriers, and agreement
is equally necessary thereafter to
maintain them Otherwiss each COM
pany will make its own rates, which is dis
| elimination, and their non-agreed changes
will produce more discrimination. Moreover,
shippers must know their rates before they
ship, but railways need not This fact and
the publicity required also necesstates agree
| mont otherwise the chaos which some re-
formers call competition II the government,
owned every railway in the Union it would
be required to make equal rates under equal
conditions, as they do equal customs and
postage dues. 1t would also require an or
ganization or pool to maintain its equal
rates OF transportation, as it now requires q
custom house pool and postofice pool,
the terms being used respectfully. Then
some form Of equitable tonnage distribution
would also be essential, otherwise one railway
or system, or district or city, would over.
carry, and to change this by diversion or re-
striction would be pooling
There is no testimony that can prove that
legal rates are wrong or extortionate, or car
do harm simply because administered by a
pool. Clearly It is better for New York city
1 70
as one in pool to charge only one reason
able rate for all the like traffic Of all its mer-
chants as if they were one firm, than to have
separated railways and various merchant.
scrambling for the strongest combination oil
both and the lowest rates for all This bill
only requires that each company or route
shall charge the same rate 10 all. 1t, there
fore, stops far short of wha. II should re
quire, or at least legalize, that all companies
between the rsame points charge the same
rates. In this broad mercantile aspect the
pool is more Just than the law, because II the
eight railways from Chicago eastwarily
make eight different rates to New York tn
result upon the commerce Of both cities i
precisely as discriminating, non-uniform
preferential, and disastrous as il the same
eight rates were made over one railway
This statement defies refutation, but IL II
comprehensive view which the clamorfnI
general public, who are not forwariers o.
travellers as a rule, do not take of it Ever
pool in the union has increased tonnage ant
reduced rates below those agreed TO by tn
former methods. If, therefore, a section wa
in the bill to require that all pool agreement
be submitted to the national commission
with the requirement that il they containe,
no conditions at variance with law or publ
policy they would be approved, it could no
fail Of public good. So fortified, and work
ing in accord with the national commission
the same number Of railway pool CON
missioners can do the public more GOO
, than the national commission can possibl
accomplish in much longer time We go n
further than mere rejoinder, and say that
pools were legalized the law would be We
more quickly and thoroughly fulfilled Enc
land has done So Belgium and Germany fin
that governmental ownership means tn
strongest pools, and France districts and
vides its traffic, which is pooling. Ours is tn
country, whose size and complications mos
need cooperative traffic unity, and it ha
been found the hast measure, yet, after il
senate committee traversed the country an
heard all views, and therefrcm decided not
prohibit pools, it recedes fromits own groun
in response 10 unreasoning and UNKNOWN
clamor"
In conclusion, Mr. Blanchard says: "Tt
salaries named are insufficient to procure th
ability required to deal with adequate gras
with the greatest problem we have. Make til
. commission large and able enough, and pa
, them enough to take up all questions as the
arise Choose them from all the great in
terests to be affected, and the securities the
hold will be proof of business fitness an
prudence rather than the reverse. Then IL
, the act he drawn to give them just power au
discretion, and the railways and the publ
should and will conform to their ruling
without all the pre-elaboration and detn
tons OF intent contained in the bill"
Quay for Senator.
, HARRISBURG, Pa, Jan 6-The Reput
, lican caucus nominated State Treasure
QUAY for United States senator "Wednesday